EMI executives sometimes struggle against an avalanche of negative media, and Paul McCartney is the latest source of pain. McCartney recently shifted his entire solo catalog away from EMI, and now, he’s blaming the label for a still iTunes-less Beatles. “It’s been business hassles,” McCartney recently told BBC Radio. “Not with us, or iTunes. It’s the people in the middle, the record label. There have been all sorts of reasons why they don’t want to do it.”

The story is a lot more complicated than that, though perhaps EMI is simply an easy punching bag at this stage*. Part of the blame should also be shared by Apple Corps., the Beatles business entity, though finger-pointing is never a sign of progress.

Either way, the band known for smashing and evolving creatively is now a total dud in the digital space. The Beatles are one of the last standouts on iTunes (and other platforms), for reasons that seem difficult to articulate.

*EMI subsequently offered a statement after the initial publication of this report. “Discussions are ongoing,” an EMI representative stated. “We would love to see The Beatles’ music available for sale digitally.”